Recent Sulcata Prolapse...looking for some advice please

[JNMann]

Hi everyone,

My Sulky recently had an unfortunate prolapse. Everything appears to be back to normal now and the vet has checked him/her over.

Unfortunately they know little about the anatomy of Tortoises and we have no experts within easy reach. They have supplied me with X-rays and i would very much like someone who knows what they're looking at to take a look and see what they think.

Can anyone point me in the right direction please?

Thank you in advance

 

[mike taylor]

Post the pictures of the xrays .. we have vets here on the forum that can help.

 

[JNMann]

Thank you. I'm assuming the vets have drawn over one of these x-rays for some reason so will try and get the original

 

[dmmj]

was it a intestinal or penile prolapse?

 

[JNMann]

I think it was intestinal but I'm unsure. To be honest (and apologies for being blunt) I just caught sight as it was going back in, it looked horrible but vet thinks it 'all' went back into place :-( Couple of slight pop outs since but seems ok now.

 

[Yvonne G]

It looks like he's full of gravel. So that means he's probably blocked. When they strain to get impaction out, it sometimes causes the penis to prolapse, which then swells and dries and can't go back inside. Since the prolapse has cleared, you need to work on getting those rocks to pass so the prolapse doesn't happen again. If there is some sort of food he's really fond of, make it into a mineral oil burrito. For instance, moisten some Mazuri Tortoise diet, spread it on a leaf of romaine lettuce then add mineral oil to that and spread it around. Roll it up into a burrito and hand feed it to the tortoise, bite by bite until its gone. Anything you an get mineral oil into works well - inside a strawberry, or whatever. Since mineral oil isn't absorptive, it will lubricate whatever is inside and help it to slide out. You can also squirt a dropperful of mineral oil as far up the cloaca and the dropper will go without shoving.

 

[JNMann]

Well he's fond of pretty much any food so that shouldn't be a problem i'll look into that thank you. You say gravel? He has a mixture of top soil/sand as a substrate but I'm always looking at alternatives.

The vets weren't much use in all honesty, they seemed to think something inside was enlarged on these x-rays.

 

[Yvonne G]

You can clearly see little bits of something filling the organ on the right side of the first picture, and making it larger than it should be. How long have you had the tortoise? He might have ingested all that stuff before you got him.

 

[JNMann]

Had him since he was 6 weeks old and he's about 15 now I can see where you mean yes. Trying to think what on earth that could be.....

Having had mixed advice over his life I don't think his diet has been as good as it could have been, we're now working hard to rectify this.

 

[JNMann]

Just looking at his substrate and I think there may have been very small stones in there as it isn't 100% clear, this could well be the problem. i will look at the substrates again.

 

[Tom]

What species are we talking about? Are you sure of the sex?

From what you describe and from the ineptitude of your vets, it sounds like your tortoise got an erection.

Do a you tube search for "tortoise erection" and see if it looks familiar.

I always recommend against sand as a substrate and your x-ray demonstrates one reason why. In addition to Yvonne's advice, daily soaks and lots of exercise will help to clear whatever that is without surgery.

 

[JNMann]

Well well well, in all my years. I believe you are 100% correct with your diagnosis! I've just looked on YouTube and can't believe my eyes! This is indeed exactly what I saw, so it isn't a prolapse at all!? This is the first time in 15 years of ownership that I've seen 'this'

He (I guess I can say that without doubt now?!) is a Sulcata, approx 4lb and 10" x 7". I know he should be a lot bigger at 15 years and this has been down to diet and humidity I guess. Lots of work to do.

I'm getting Pro Rep Tortoise Life Substrate which is soil with added limestone...and no stones most importantly! and will be growing grass and weeds etc. for a much better diet.

Many thanks for your advice this far, it really is much appreciated

 

[Yvonne G]

Just looking at his substrate and I think there may have been very small stones in there as it isn't 100% clear, this could well be the problem. i will look at the substrates again.

I took a YF to the vet once for her to help me with a prolapse. While she was working on the tortoise, it pooped, and the poop was full of tiny pebbles. The tortoise is outside on dirt and I had her over a year. I thought there was no way for it to have ingested pebbles. So I was relating the story here on the Forum, and went outside and took a picture of the pen and the dirt. When I looked at the picture on the computer, lo and behold - lots of tiny pebbles (gravel) in the dirt.

Your tortoise might be eating dirt because it needs more minerals in its system. Buy a product called Miner-all. It's made by Sticky Tongue Farms. It has calcium, but also other minerals that tortoises need. I used to buy it at Petsmart, but the last time I looked for it they don't sell it anymore. But you can still buy it online.

 

[JNMann]

Just trying to find Miner All in UK, one place stocks it, just seeing if they ship

The vets phoned tonight, they said "Not this might sound a but strange...." I said, not at all, I know exactly what you're going to say! they went on to describe the erection ;-) They mentioned about the gravel as well. They've suggested a stool sample to make sure the parasites level isn't too high?

 

[Yvonne G]

Sounds reasonable.

 

[KevinGG]

They sell it on amazon

 

[JNMann]

OK, just ordering Miner All thanks folks.

 

[Hainsy]

Where in the UK did you find the Miner-all? I've looked on Amazon and its nearly £30 a pot. I'm currently using Repashy but will be going over to Nutrabal soon.

I'm not sure how these compare.